Oh Australia, you never fail to amaze us with your stunning weddings and scenery. Photographer Lakshal Perera was called upon to photograph the nuptials of Rachel and Karl. Filled to the brim with heartfelt touches and handmade details, their wedding is one sweet fete image after image. Rachel, the bride, memorized a speech in Italian to speak to Karl’s large family at the reception, and her mom grew 120 seedlings to give as wedding favors. The groom Karl, among other things, designed his own and his groomsmen’s jackets. Take it all in below:

From the bride, Rachel: We wanted our wedding to reflect who we are and what were about. We wanted it to be relaxed so our guests could enjoy themselves yet be significant and meaningful. We are both relaxed, earthy, down to earth people and we wanted that to shine through. The aim was to make it as sustainable as possible. Starting with the food we opted for a local and seasonal menu, local wines and beers, our friends home-brewed cider was served, cakes were made locally from local ingredients and local Victorian cheeses were enjoyed.

There was never a set theme. The location and our tastes set the mood. Our wedding was very hands on. We had lots of help from our family. Without them it would not have been possible. We played wedding planner ourselves by organising catering, bands, photographers, we made the invites, booklets and menu cards, arranged the table and decorative flowers, brainstormed and set up all the decorations, brought in dining chairs our families had dined on since we were small, collected glass and crystal vases and candle sticks, sewed hessian bags for the plants to go in for the guests gifts and the lace for the table settings. With our families we spent the day before setting up the ceremony area, arranging flowers and setting up decorations and lighting.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Make it your own! What better way to showcase yourselves than at your wedding. Then just relax and enjoy it all.

From the photographer, Lakshal: I don’t know where to start with Rachel and Karl. These two people are honestly two of the most amazing people I’ve ever met (and I can see why they are the way they are). Their families are both exceptionally wonderful, they took me in and treated me like I was one of their own. I was instantly welcome and able to be involved in everything. I arrived to Boyd Baker House a day early to the hustle and bustle of the entire family getting together and setting things up which is just the way I think things ought to be. In my mind, the history of weddings are not necessarily about finding a nice venue and serving tasty food, it was about bringing families, and to a larger extent, the community together. For me, this was the ultimate in personalised weddings; nothing generic, nothing stock, nothing without meaning. Rachel’s mum had grown nearly 120 plants from seedlings which were gifts for the guests. The suits the boys were wearing were custom made with Karl’s own breastplate design. Rachel learned and wrote a speech in Italian to speak to Karl and his very large Italian family. The drinks available included Apple Cider made by Callum using the apples grown on Karl’s uncle’s family orchard. Like I said, this was something that was very special to everyone involved. The connectedness that a wedding like this can bring, in my eyes, is the exact meaning of what a wedding should be about. I was invited to this day as a photographer, but I was part of it, I was involved and it was a wonderful experience.

Oh guys (meaning bride/groom). I don’t know who you are but WELL DONE!!! You’ve taken a bit of ultra-traditional Aussie Bush and turned it into something dreams are made of. I can see and feel all the countless hours of preparation involved, and you pulled it off so well. I’m just so impressed!